Let’s face it, getting your home ready to go on the market can be overwhelming to say the least. So we have come up with a few guidelines to help you get started. Here’s a home staging checklist you can use:
Begin with the inside of your home and work your way through each room. Once the inside is staged, you can move outside and make the outside as beautiful and appealing as the inside.
Inside
- Try to reduce the number of family photos and knick-knacks throughout your home.
- Rearrange or remove furniture to create more space.
- Put all bathroom toiletries in drawers or cabinets.
- Place a single bottle of hand soap or a clean bar of soap on the sink, together with a hand towel to make your bathrooms appear clean and organized.
- Clear all items out of shower stalls and tubs except for necessities.
- Clear off night stands, dressers, etc.
- Store extra books, magazines, or miscellaneous items underneath the bed or in storage boxes that are out of site.
- Minimize the amount of items in closet; a good rule is to keep your closets a ¼ full.
- Clear off all coffee tables and end tables, a centerpiece or decorative item is fine, but get rid of all personal items and junk.
- Move pet food bowls out of sight.
- Clear off dining room table; leave only a centre piece or other decorative item.
- Remove additional leaves from tables to make the room look larger.
- Clear all unnecessary objects from the kitchen counter tops.
- Remove all pictures, magnets, drawings, messages, etc. from the refrigerator.
- Make sure all cabinets appear spacious and well organized.
Outside Home
- Remove all garbage cans, wood scraps, extra building materials, etc.
- Remove any dead plants and weed all garden areas.
- Keep your lawn freshly cut and edged.
- ·Prune bushes and trees.
- Sweep out and organize the garage.
- Arrange any tools or building materials in the garage and place in tool boxes or chests.
- Add a decorative planter or floral arrangement at the front door to welcome buyers.
This checklist is a great place to start when you are staging your home.
Remember YOU ARE TURNING THE HOME INTO A PRODUCT, and you want to appeal to the majority of buyers. Your goal is to eliminate as many objections as possible! If you don’t properly prepare your home to go on the market, you will only help to sell the competition!
